Today's gaming machines allow for experiences that we could only dream of decades ago, but nevertheless, the early years of gaming were a time ripe with innovation. While gaming at home was no longer a new concept by the time the 80's came around, the decade was still a time of creativity as developers experimented with genres and art styles that wouldn't hit their heydays until years later. Others were just weird by design, such as Deus Ex Machina, an interactive movie released in 1984 that has now found its way over to Android.

Let's be honest, most apps from cable and satellite providers are junk. You don't have any choice but to use them, though. It's not that the Verizon FiOS app is bad, but it's still rather lacking. At least with today's update it adds a few new features. Maybe it's time to give it another look.

As the resident teardown guy, Update Wednesday was a huge letdown this week. After slicing and dicing a dozen or so apks, all I saw were bug fixes, minor adjustments, and updates with full changelogs. Come on Google, I can't write about the neat stuff if none of the secrets are allowed to leave Mountain View. Fortunately, I did get to look at an unreleased version of Play Services, and there are a few interesting things to take away from it.

Android Auto hasn't arrived in vehicles yet, but interested parties are already getting their ducks in a row. We've seen car manufacturers announce support and a handful of aftermarket radio makers show off their products (Parrot, Kenwood, Pioneer), all stuff to get excited about. But for any of this to be good, app developers have to get behind the platform as well. So it's good to see iHeartRadio add Android Auto support in the latest app update.

The Matchstick is, or someday may be, a $25 media streaming stick that's similar to the Chromecast, but based on Firefox OS. Its developers promise more powerful hardware and an open platform that supports video and many existing Chromecast apps. The Kickstarter project amassed nearly five times its $100k funding goal by the time the campaign ended in October.

Now for the bad news. The project announced today that it's not going to meet its goal of shipping this month.

The Nexus 9 is Google's new flagship Lollipop tablet, but what if you don't like the software Google put on the device? Well, you can change it. That's how Nexus devices work. Now you can finally install CyanogenMod 12 on the N9. Just head over to the CM downloads page and get ready to flash.

If you've ever gone to a foreign country with a carrier-branded phone, or tried to use that phone on a different operator in the US, you've probably encountered the problem many have: it's locked. While most carriers did honor unlock requests in the past, or sell their handsets unlocked (like Verizon, mostly), there was no universal policy on the practice in America.

If you've been waiting for Verizon's carrier-branded version of the Nexus 6 to hit stores so you can save a little cash on a subsidized phone, you won't have to wait much longer. A tipster sent a photo to Android Police that appears to show a rollout schedule for Verizon's next round of phone releases displayed on a company intranet or presentation.